6 Questions About God All Christians Will Eventually Ask

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The Bible is a great source of spiritual power, encouragement and wisdom. Scripture says, “Open my eyes, so that I may see the wonderful truths in Your law” (Psalm 119:18). If you are looking to learn, correct, train or encourage others toward maturity in Christ, the Bible is the book you should turn to. As you begin reading Scripture more and more, certain questions will begin to show up, some of them related to God. In fact, during the Christian spiritual journey, followers of Christ are forced to eventually face some basic faith-related questions. These questions will not be easy to answer. Some of these will challenge our belief systems, what we think about God and what we think about ourselves. However, these questions are critical and every believer needs to know how to answer them. The answers to these questions will reveal God’s Will for your life and also help you to feel confident as you share your faith with others. Here are six questions about God all Christians will eventually ask.

Who is God?

The Bible teaches us that in all existence, from all eternity, there has been and always will be only one God. God was never created, is completely loving, completely just, completely holy, and completely merciful and desires the best for us. God is holy, and He can have nothing to do with sin as the Bible says, “His eyes are too pure to look upon evil,” (Habakkuk 1:13). This doesn’t mean that God can’t see what someone does that is wrong. It is a way of describing how holy God is. God can’t sin. He is perfect. In Christianity, God is a Trinity meaning that God is three persons, not three gods. The doctrine of the Trinity states that in the one God is the person of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

What is Salvation?

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Salvation commonly referred to as “being saved” means deliverance or redemption from sin and its consequences. We are told in Romans 5:8 that God demonstrated His love for us through the death of His son, because of our sins. Ephesians 2:5 tells us, “even though we were dead because of our sins, [God] gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved.” In order to receive salvation, we have to be born again. We commonly hear the terms, "born again" again and "saved" in Christian circles. They are two of the most popular phrases used by-present day Christians, but many can’t pinpoint the definition when they are asked to. When you are saved, or born again, you experience a spiritual transformation, a total change of heart. To be born again is to be saved.

Why Does God Allow Bad Things to Happen?

One common question that even Christians ask about God is why bad things happen? If God exists, why is there evil in the world? This is a difficult stumbling block and question for many people. The simplest way to look at this question is to examine God’s nature and His desire for mankind. Look at the logic. God loves us and wants us to love Him back. And how could we love Him back unless we have the freedom not to love. Evil is choosing not to love. So when God gave us the freedom to choose, He gave us not only our greatest blessing, but He also gave us our greatest curse because we can choose to do right or choose to do wrong. The reason there’s evil in the world is not because of God, but because He gave us the freedom to choose.

Why is God so Violent in the Old Testament?

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It’s easy to recognize God as love through Jesus Christ in New Testament readings, but very few can wrap their minds around the horrifically violent portrayal of God in the Old Testament. When we understand the four reasons God commands violence in the Old Testament, it frees us to rightly understand Israel’s conquest of Canaan. First, the violence of the Old Testament preserves the messianic bloodline. God promises to maintain a lineage that would bring forth a messiah. The violent scenes of the Old Testament show us the way that God preserves the promise of messianic deliverance that drives the Old Testament. Second, the violence of the Old Testament purifies the people of God. Third, the violence of the Old Testament prophecies the judgment of God. Finally, the violence of the Old Testament patterns the atonement of Christ.

How Does Free Will Affect My Faith

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Most believers eventually encounter the age-old question that continues to be debated today: Do I choose God or does God choose me? This basically asks two things: Is God in control of everything? In other words is God ‘sovereign’ and are we humans responsible for actions – in particular, for the way we respond to God? At first glance, it looks as though these two things don’t go together. But the Bible repeatedly holds them side-by-side without implying that affirming one means denying the other. The biggest place where we see God’s sovereignty and human responsibility together is at the cross. Jesus was crucified because of the evil intent of wicked man. This is a bad thing! But even in their wickedness, these men can’t escape God’s Will.

Does God Hear the Prayers of Unbelievers?

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John 9:31 declares, “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does His will.” It has also been said that, “the only prayer that God hears from a sinner is the prayer for salvation.” As a result, some believe that God does not hear and/or will never answer the prayers of an unbeliever. In context, though, John 9:31 is saying that God does not perform miracles through an unbeliever. First John 5:14-15 tells us that God answers prayers based on whether they are asked according to His Will, nothing prevents God from answering such a prayer – according to His Will. Yes, there are instances in which God does not answer the prayers of an unbeliever. At the same time, in His grace and mercy, God can intervene in the lives of unbelievers in the response to their prayers.